Obama Has Been Bad For Olbermann’s Business
So says Andrew Malcolm, noting that Olbermann may be more shrill now than ever because he thinks he can turn his ratings around just by being crazier and louder than ever.
There are a couple of reasons for KO’s frustration and anger and volume and core meltdown over the Massachusetts election outcome, among other issues of galactic import. For one, lots more ranters around nowadays on all sides, including that colleague of Keith’s with the hugest head in TV. Please, no 3-D for him!
Also, Olbermann’s showboat is sinking. Listing in you-know-which direction.
It’s as if he thinks talking LOUDER will keep his low cell battery from dying.
Worst, Olbermann’s network president, Phil Griffin, is publicly praising him, always an ominous sign in television. While referring to his host almost in the past tense. “Keith has been our tentpole,” Griffin says, adding later, “I’m pleased with where we are.”
Where they are, as Jeff Bercovici points out over at Daily Finance, is way behind the big boys over at Fox News, Bill O’Reilly and gang. In fact, Keith is so far behind Bill, he can’t even make out the state of the license plate, let alone the numbers. Bercovici thinks Americans may be outgrowing Olbermann’s schtick.
In the most desirable TV demographic of 25-54, which Keith will soon outgrow himself, “Countdown” lost 44% of its audience from the beginning of President Obama’s term until this year. It could have been worse — say, 45%.
Olbermann averaged 268,000 viewers last month in that sector. That’s just several thousand sets of those eyes more than Campbell Brown over on CNN. According to one count, Keith even finished in that time slow behind Nancy Grace. Nancy Grace!
The problem with Olbermann, and indeed MSNBC’s commentary lineup in general, is that their pretense of objectivity runs pretty thin. They’re great at attacking their ideological opposites. But they’re not so great at holding their own side accountable.
And when it comes to flacking for liberal politicians, it’s an industry that’s oversupplied. When it comes to liberal apologists, we already have the New York Times, CBS, ABC, NBC, etc.
MSNBC’s problem is that they’re doing something a lot of other people are already doing. And doing it better. The folks at MSNBC have only one schtick, and that schtick is to be louder and shriller and more shameless in their liberalism than everyone else.
And clearly, it’s not much of a schtick.
